On Batlike Wings
by Tollivandi Silverwing
Summary: A new creature has made New York City her home. Who is she, and more importantly, what is she? A bat, a killer, a monster? You'll have to read it because I'm no good at summaries.
1. The New Menace

_Tolly: Amazing, isn't it, how things can just come to you? And then they refuse to leave? Yeah, it's like that with this one._

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Peter Parker looked at the cover of the latest issue of the Daily Bugle. For once, it wasn't focusing on Spiderman and how he was a menace and should be stopped, blah, blah, blah. Instead, it showed a grainy photograph of something big and black standing over a terrified-looking man. _MONSTER STALKS STREETS _the headline read. Below, in smaller letters, it said: _Reward for any further information._

"Well?" said Peter's boss, a cigar dangling out of the corner of his mouth. "Can you get a picture of this thing or not?"

"I can try." said Peter.

"That's not good enough. Get me a picture of this weirdo by tomorrow, or else."

"Yes, sir." Peter left the office, thinking. He had gotten his job at the Daily Bugle taking pictures of Spiderman, a.k.a. himself. How could he get a picture of the monster? And why didn't he know about this? He had been out web-slinging all night last night and hadn't seen any big, black things. Peter sighed. _Just something else to deal with. _he thought bitterly. _Can my life get any harder?_

He opened the door to leave the building and collided with someone, papers flying everywhere.

"Watch where you're going!" snapped a female voice.

Peter knelt to help her pick up her papers. "Sorry," he said.

"Yeah, well, it's not all your fault." said the woman. "Just my luck to run into a door."

"We all have bad days." said Peter, handing her a pile of papers.

"Guess so. I'm Julia, by the way. Julia Borden." She held out her hand.

He shook it. "Peter Parker."

Julia looked up at the Daily Bugle building. "Do you work here?" she asked.

Peter nodded.

"How is it?"

"Well, it's got its ups and downs." said Peter, smirking.

"Which is another way of saying it sucks. Oh well. I'm trying to find a job. I've got an interview here in a few minutes. Any suggestions?"

"If it helps any, they're looking for pictures of a creature someone saw last night." Peter held out the newspaper.

Julia glanced at it. "Are they now?" she said thoughtfully.

"Have you seen it?"

"Yeah, a couple times now. In fact," She dug through her papers. "I've got a picture right here." She showed Peter a photo of a huge, dark shape silhouetted against the lights of a building.

"That's a good shot. You might get my job." He said with a grin. "I'd show this to Mr. Jamison if I were you."

"Alright then, I will. See you around, Peter." Julia opened the door and went inside.

_Well,_ thought Peter._ Picture problem solved for now. And next, the monster. _He sighed and went on his way.

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That night, Spiderman soared through the city on strands of web, looking for any signs of the mysterious creature. He paused on a domed roof, scanning the area. All of a sudden, a shadow sped over him. "There you are." he muttered, flinging out a web and following it.

As he swung after it, Spiderman marveled at the thing. It flew on bat-shaped wings that were easily 16 feet from tip to tip. He was still too far behind it to see anything else. He picked up his pace.

Suddenly, the massive bat decided to fly straight up. Spiderman followed close behind. It went over the top of the building, and Spiderman flipped himself up after it.

On the roof, there was no sign of the bat-creature. Instead a woman stood as though waiting for him. She was clad entirely in black, with bare arms, bare feet and a bat-wing mask that had no eye holes. Her shoulder-length dark hair was plaited into two braids.

"So you're the one who was following me?" she asked sweetly.

"Depends. Were you the one who was flying?" he answered.

"The one and only." she said with a smile.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"You get right to the point, don't you? I haven't got a name, at least not yet. I'll let the press come up with that. As for what I'm doing here, you'll just have to find out, won't you? And for all you know, I might be a killer." Her smile turned into a wicked grin.

Spiderman shot a web towards her, intending to catch her before she could do anything. But despite the fact that her eyes were covered by her mask, she leapt out of the way.

"That wasn't very nice." she said. Far off, a clock began tolling the hour. "Look at the time. We'll have to chat again soon, won't we?"

With that, she ran and jumped off the edge of the building. Spiderman hurried after her, and watched in amazement as her arms transformed into giant wings and she flew away. Quickly, he started following her, but had lost her already.

Spiderman swore and headed home.

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_Tolly: This idea is kind of half-baked, with many details unfinished. Like, what happened to her to make her this way? And what should she be called? I could use a little help in those areas, so please review!_


	2. Whose side are you on?

_Tolly: Ah, yes, a disclaimer…I own Vampira, that's it._

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The next day, the headline of the Daily Bugle read: _GIANT BAT TERRORIZES CITY._ Below was Julia's picture of the being. Then, _Who or What is Vampira? Interviews with witnesses inside. _All the witnesses' descriptions were the same. A young woman, dressed in black, who could change into a colossal bat. But their claims of what she did were varied. There were reports of her hanging upside down from street lights, sighting of her sucking the blood of innocent victims and even one report of her having a few drinks in a local bar, then flying out the door.

Peter put the newspaper down and sighed. _I can't believe I lost her, _he thought angrily to himself. Who knew how many of those reports were actually true? He was especially worried about the blood-sucking parts. What if she really did kill people?

Peter got up, left the coffee shop and started walking down the street, still thinking about the bat-creature. So, of course he wasn't looking were he was going and ran straight into Julia Borden, who was absorbed in the Daily Bugle.

"Oh," she said, looking up. "Hi, Peter."

"Hey, looks like you got a job." said Peter, pointing to the cover.

"Well, not really. I decided to take a desk job instead. According to Mr. Jamison, I should leave the picture-taking to what's-his-name. I assume he meant you."

"Guess so." Peter said."Speaking of pictures, what do you think about Vampira?"

"In my opinion, these witnesses are a bunch of crock-pots trying to vilify anything new that disturbs their day-to-day lives." said Julia, as though she had been thinking about this for a while. "I've seen it happen before. They did that to that guy, um, what was he called…?"

"Spiderman?" suggested Peter.

"Yeah, that's it. They made him out to be a villain, when he seemed to be pretty helpful." said Julia reasonably. "What do you think?"

"I haven't made up my mind about this one yet." said Peter after a thought.

"And what do you think of Spiderman? You take his pictures, don't you?"

"Well, yeah, unofficially." said Peter. The conversation had turned a little too risky for him to say more. "Listen, I have to get going. I'll, er, I'll see you later."

"Okay, bye."

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Julia Borden returned to her apartment deep in thought. There was something oddly familiar about Peter Parker, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She shrugged. _No matter,_ she thought, changing her clothes. She smiled. _Besides,_ _I've got a date tonight._

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Vampira soared on bat-like wings above New York City. Clutched in her clawed feet were a few issues of the Daily Bugle. She had a bone to pick with Spiderman. So where was he? She emitted a series of high-pitched squeaks, above the average human scale. The echoes bounced back to her ears. One of Spiderman's leftover webs was hanging from a building, but there was no sign of the web-slinger himself.

She landed on a flagpole that was sticking out horizontally from the side of a building and hung there for a minute. Then, with a slight hop, Vampira was hanging by her knees in human form. After a quick sound scan, she took off her mask and began rereading the Daily Bugle.

In an earlier edition, from before she had arrived in the city, the press described Spiderman as a menace, a criminal, etc. And now they described her the same way. That was what she wanted to talk to Spiderman about tonight. Were they on the same side or not?

Suddenly, Vampira heard the tell-tale sound of Spiderman shooting out webs. Quickly, she put her mask back on, threw the rolled-up newspapers into the air, and dropped from the flagpole. She was in her bat form fast enough to catch the papers. _And look Mom, no eyes, _she thought to herself with a smirk. She did a midair flip. _Gotta love echolocation._

Vampira sent a sound wave behind her. Spiderman was right on her tail. She caught a slight updraft from a subway vent and flew up to the top of a skyscraper. She circled it a couple times while Spiderman landed, then dropped the papers at his feet. She jumped down to the roof sans wings.

"So," said Vampira. "How've you been?"

"I'm not here for small talk." Spiderman answered.

Vampira shrugged. "Neither am I."

"What do you want then?"

"I've noticed something, Spiderman. Look at those newspapers. See anything interesting?"

He glanced at them. "Yeah, that they say you're a murderer. Is that true?" He didn't sound like he expected an answer in the negative.

"Not so fast." said Vampira. "It's funny, because they seem to say the same thing about you."

That seemed to get his attention. "What do you mean?" he said slowly.

"According to the Daily Bugle, we're a lot alike."

"I'm not like you." Spiderman's voice was venomous. He held his hands ready to fire a web at any moment.

"You don't even know who I am!" said Vampira, exasperated. "I…" Suddenly she froze. A noise drifted to her sensitive ears. She listened closely, trying to figure out what it was.

"What is it?" Vampira winced as Spiderman spoke. He sounded so loud compared to what she was trying to hear. She held up a finger to shush him. She thought she recognized the sound, and tried echolocation to confirm it. Sure enough, far away and coming fast was a helicopter.

Spiderman was alert as well. The helicopter swooped towards the skyscraper and Vampira heard a faint whistling as a dart shot past her. Without waiting for another hint, she leapt off the building. Spiderman followed a split second later.

Another dart sped through the night as Vampira tried to shake the helicopter off amid the city buildings. Her radar was going crazy, having to deal with the sounds of the chopper blades, Spiderman's webs, and her own echolocation. Her ears ached, but she kept flying.

Then, without warning, the chopper pulled away, firing one last shot in her direction. Vampira just barely dodged it. A grunt from ahead told her that Spiderman wasn't so lucky. He had been hit and was falling fast. Vampira bent her wings and dropped towards him.

The last thing Spiderman saw before he blacked out was Vampira's huge claws reaching for him.

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_Tolly: Let's see what was I going to say?...Oh yeah, you see that little button that says "Go"? please use it!_


	3. Not a date

_Tolly: If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. I will be trying different ideas because, as I said before, this is a half-baked idea._

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When Spiderman came to, the first thing he saw was Vampira's face. Quickly shaking off his lethargy, he leapt to his feet, ready to fire a web. But Vampira just held up her hands and took a step back.

"I don't want to fight." she said. "I just want to talk."

"Then talk." said Spiderman, not lowering his hands.

"Look, I know what you think I am, but if I was a murderer, wouldn't I have killed you already?"

"Not if you wanted to get me on your side."

Vampira sighed and put her head in her hands. "You don't get it, do you? The Daily Bugle, heck, people on the streets say that we're both villains. What I want to know is, are you?"

"No," said Spiderman quietly.

"But you don't believe that I'm not. Look around you. In case you haven't noticed, we're in an alley. My wingspan is about sixteen feet, so there's not a lot of room for me. Plus, it takes longer for me to transform than it does for you to shoot a web. You have the advantage, Spiderman. Will you just listen?"

Spiderman put his hands down slowly, but he was still ready to spring at any moment.

"Now, you've said that you're not evil. I'm willing to believe that, if you agree that I'm not either."

"I'll believe that when I see it." said Spiderman.

"You've got trust issues, don't you?" Vampira suddenly whirled around, towards the entrance of the alley. "We've got company."

As Spiderman glanced toward the street, Vampira jumped, flipped and transformed in one fluid motion, ending up hanging by her claws from a fire escape, wings wrapped around her like something out of a horror film. Spiderman climbed quickly up a wall and hid in the shadows.

The intruders turned out to be four or five men, in pursuit of a young woman. The woman had apparently gone down the alley in hopes of an escape route. There was none, and the men quickly surrounded her.

"Now," One of the men leered. "We get to have some fun."

"Not on my watch." Vampira growled.

"Who said that?" A couple of them reached for weapons, looking around.

"I did." Vampira opened her wings and let out a piercing screech. The men yelled and began running out of the alley, but Vampira launched herself into their way. She spread her wings, completely blocking the way out. "Not so fast. Do you really think I'd let you go?"

Suddenly, one of them grabbed the girl, producing a knife and holding it at her throat. "Let us go," he said. "Or she dies."

Vampira did not lower her wings. The man pressed the blade closer, a determined snarl on his face. Just then, the knife was snatched out of his hands and yanked upwards on a web. Pretty soon, one of his buddies followed it. Another guy pulled a gun out of his jacket and peered upwards, preparing to shoot Spiderman. Before he could, however, Vampira fastened a claw around his arm and drew him close to her face. "Now, now." she said, dangerously soft. "That's not nice." She kicked her leg out, sending him into a wall and effectively knocking him out.

Meanwhile, Spidey wrapped up two more of the gang members. The last one made it out into the street, and Vampira calmly swooped after him. Ignoring his screams, she lifted him by the shoulders and deposited him in a dumpster.

Vampira landed near the shocked victim and changed back into human form. She held a hand out comfortingly towards the woman, but the woman slapped it away. "Get away from me, you—you beast!" shrieked the lady, running off into the night.

Vampira stared after her. "Thanks for saving me, Vampira." she muttered. "You really are a hero." She sighed. "Guess not. No matter what I do, I'm a monster to them."

Spiderman stepped up behind her. "Join the club." he said, smirking dejectedly behind his mask.

She turned to face him, her eyebrows raised and her moment of depression evidently forgotten. "What, are we on the same side now?"

Spiderman merely shrugged noncommittally.

"I take that as a yes." smiled Vampira. "You know, we should get together sometime. Not a date, just a freak-to-freak talk. We could just walk into a restaurant, dressed like this," Her smile broadened. "Get a table and get to know each other. What do you say?"

"Well, the restaurant idea doesn't really work for me." said Spiderman with mock seriousness.

"Fine. Then we'll just talk. Tomorrow night, ten o'clock, top of the Daily Bugle building. How's that?'

"You make it sound like a date."

"Ew, no. I've got a boyfriend." Vampira paused. "I shouldn't have mentioned him. Forget I said that."

"Deal." said Spiderman, thinking of his own girlfriend. "So, tomorrow, ten, Daily Bugle. Not a date."

"See you then, Spiderman." Vampira grabbed his hand, shook it, and half-ran out of the alley. She transformed and took flight.

Spiderman stood for a while in thought, then turned and made his own wall-crawling, web-slinging way home.

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_Tolly: Any suggestions as to why she is what she is? Cuz that'd be super._


	4. Identities revealed

_Tolly: note to undisciplined-self: WRITE FASTER!_

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A young woman sat in her apartment, a black mask in her hands. The mask was shaped like the wings of a bat, and although it looked opaque, it could be seen through as easily as dark sunglasses. But the woman wasn't looking at the mask. Instead, she stared at a picture, which was framed and hung on her wall. In it, she stood between a young man and a much older man. The three of them combined held five ancient stone jars, taken from a Mayan temple.

She smiled, as though remembering days gone by, and looked down at the mask in her hands. Suddenly, she started, looked towards the door and quickly hid the mask in a closet. Seconds later, someone knocked on the door. It was her landlady, Mrs. Terwilliger.

"Miss Borden," said Mrs. Terwilliger. "Your rent--"

"Yes, I know. It's overdue. But, I swear, I'll have the money by tomorrow."

Mrs. Terwilliger looked at her half-skeptically, half-sympathetically. "I'll give you till the end of this week."

Julia sighed with relief. "Thank you, Mrs. Terwilliger. I won't let you down."

"I know you won't," Mrs. Terwilliger smiled, and then her expression grew stern. "You should really try getting more sleep, Miss Borden. You look about ready to drop."

"I'll try."

Once Mrs. Terwilliger had left, Julia slumped against the door. She looked towards the picture on her wall. "I wish you were here, Papa. You'd know what to do."

She took a deep breath, gathered up her papers, opened the door and headed out into the world.

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Peter looked at the latest issue of the Daily Bugle, a slight smile on his face. Apparently, someone had seen Vampira catching him last night and had taken a picture. _Wait a second,_ thought Peter, now frowning. _She caught me because I got hit by a dart from that helicopter. Who was shooting at us?_

His musings were interrupted as Julia Borden sat down at the table next to his.

"Hi," said Peter cordially.

Julia looked up, startled, and then smirked at him. "I'm running into you all over the city, aren't I? Is this, like, the café you always stop at before work?"

"Well, before school." Peter admitted. "I go to the University up the street."

Julia nodded absently. She glanced at the newspaper on his table. "Is that one of your pictures?"

"Nope. It's pretty good though, don't you think?"

"I bet Mr. Jameson loved it." Julia rolled her eyes. "Anything that he could possibly use to degrade his so-called 'masked menaces'." She looked at the picture again. "Hey, look. There's a helicopter in the background."

Peter looked closer. Sure enough, the helicopter that was shooting at Vampira the night before was in the picture as well.

"Can you read what it says on the side, Peter?" said Julia quietly, almost hopefully. "I don't exactly have the best eyesight."

Peter, ever since acquiring his spider powers, had extremely good eyesight, and could indeed read the side of the helicopter. Or, at least, he could see it. "It looks like it's written in Spanish. What could a Mexican helicopter be doing in New York?"

Julia didn't come up with any answer, and Peter looked at her, curious of her silence. Julia's expression was one of fear, shock, and despair. But before Peter could question her, she leapt to her feet.

"I really need to get work," she said, rather shakily. Without any further farewell, she strode quickly toward the door.

"Julia, wait!" Peter called after her, getting up. She barely glanced back, but as she hurried out into the street, she stumbled. And only Peter's keen spider-senses could have discovered the source of her temporary clumsiness. Her feet, for one second, weren't feet at all, but claws.

And, while Peter stood in shock at this development, Vampira got away.

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Julia raced to her apartment, collapsing once she reached it. She fought back panic and tears as she took a box out of her closet. Before she opened it, however, she slapped herself forcefully.

"Get a grip, Julia," she told herself, taking deep breaths. "They're not coming yet."

Now calm, she slowly opened the box. Inside were four stone jars, identical to the ones in the picture on her wall. There were also the shards of the fifth jar.

"What am I going to do?" Julia whispered.

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Later that night, Spiderman was crouched on the top of the Daily Bugle building, waiting for Vampira, and hoping she'd come. He had to find out who, or what, she was running from.

As a far-off clock tower tolled ten o'clock, he could see a dark shape making its way to the building. When she landed, and transformed, she didn't immediately turn to him. Instead, she scanned the city, as though looking for the helicopter.

"Who was in that helicopter, Julia?" he asked.

Vampira spun around. "Peter—no…" She trailed off, and then smiled faintly. "I thought there was something familiar about you. The spidey-suit might fool people, but your voice is--"

"You didn't answer my question."

"Oh," Vampira sighed, and walked to the edge of the building. "Come with me." She leapt off, and for a second, contemplated not opening her wings, to just fall. But she shifted to her bat shape and led Spiderman to her home.

Once there, she perched silently on the windowsill, listening. "There's someone in there," she whispered fearfully.

Spiderman strained his ears, but could hear nothing.

"Wait a second," Vampira continued. "It's alright. It's only Charlie."

Just as Spiderman was about to ask who Charlie was, Vampira flung open the window and darted inside. He followed her, and saw a startled-looking man standing there.

"Don't do that!" cried the man. "Where were you? I've been worried sick about you. And who's that?" the man paused, looking closely at Vampira's guest. "Is that Spiderman?"

"Charlie, calm down," said Vampira. "Yes, it's Spiderman. I think he can help us. Are they safe?"

Charlie indicated a box on the table. "Yeah, they're safe. I came here to check on you after I saw that helicopter in the paper, and I found out that you're off flying around with some guy wearing Spandex! No offense, Spiderman." he added.

"None taken," said Spiderman. "Could someone explain to me what's going on here?"

"Okay," said Vampira, with a deep breath. "The people in the helicopter, the ones who shot you with that tranquilizer dart? They're after these." She opened the box, revealing the four intact jars, and the broken one.

"Why? What's so special about them?" Spidey asked.

Vampira exchanged a look with Charlie and began telling her story.

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_Tolly: Yes, you must read the next chapter, which will be a flashback to before Julia became Vampira. Chapter six (when I write it, which may take a while) will continue the actual story. And, by the way, please review!_


	5. Flashback

_Tolly: Ta-da! Flashback!..._

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Professor Borden and his two grown children had been working as a team ever since the twins were old enough to dig. Both Jared and Julia were avid archaeologists, just like their father, although both of them took after their late mother when it came to appearances.

Now, they were working on the site of a lesser Mayan temple, one that was small enough to go unnoticed for centuries, and one whose purpose was shrouded in mystery. Some stories spoke of it being a training ground for specialized warriors, while others said the priests there practiced strange magic. Whatever the case, the Bordens and their team were eager to uncover its ancient secrets.

Late in the day, only a half-hour from the end of the excavating shift, Julia called across the site to her father and brother. They hurried over to see what she had found.

"Figures," sighed Jared. "I find a piece of pottery, and she finds five whole jars."

Professor Borden glanced at him.

"Not that there's a contest going on," Jared said hastily. "Especially not one involving an immature dare like streaking across the camp."

His father merely raised an eyebrow and turned his attention to Julia's find. "Hmm," he said, picking up one of the stone jars and dusting some of the dirt off.

"What?" asked Julia.

"According to these inscriptions, each of these jars contains the spirit of an animal, and when it's unleashed, can turn a person into a warrior with all the powers of that animal." He smiled at his daughter. "I guess now we know what went on in this temple."

Jared scowled. "Figures." he said again. But Julia could see the laughter in his dark eyes.

"Let's get that photographer over here to take a picture, then we can bring them inside." she suggested.

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That evening, Julia was inside one of the excavation site tents, working on restoring the jars, for they were headed for a museum exhibit. Picking up each of the jars in turn, she looked at the pictures on them, every one depicting a half-human, half-creature being. "Jaguar…" she said softly. "Snake…Eagle…Scorpion…Bat." She smirked. "The five animal spirits."

"Julia?" Her brother's voice from outside startled her and the bat spirit's jar slipped from her fingers. She watched in horror as it fell and shattered on the hard ground. She quickly bent to pick up the pieces, but stopped short when she saw the shadow that was seeping from the shards. The black mist swirled, rising to eye-level and taking the shape of a bat. Julia was frozen as she stared at the spirit for what seemed like hours, but was merely seconds. Without warning, the spirit swooped, melting into her chest.

Julia cried out, and saw Jared run into the tent before losing consciousness.

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Julia awoke, finding herself lying on her back on the ground, with her arms spread out to each side. Pushing away confused dreams, she opened one eye, only to close it with a high-pitched screech; it was daylight, and the sun was shining in her eyes.

"Julia?" she heard her father's anxious voice, but her was much, much too loud for her aching ears. "Are you awake?" he said.

"Why are you shouting?" she mumbled, opening her eyes, and staring at the blue sky that was peeking through rainforest leaves. Before she could turn to look at her father, he put his hands on each side of her head, holding it straight.

"Don't look yet," he said. Although his hands were covering her ears, Julia could hear him loud and clear. "Before you do, I want you to promise that you will not scream."

"What?" asked Julia, bewildered.

"Promise me. We cannot risk anyone seeing you like this."

Julia's heart beat faster. She didn't like the sound of that. "I promise." she said, at the same time wondering why her arms felt as if they had been stretched.

"Alright." Professor Borden took his hands away. Julia took a deep breath and turned her head to one side. Stretching at least seven feet from her body was a huge, black, bat-like wing. Fighting the urge to pass out, she tried to wiggle her fingers: the bat wing fluttered. Julia turned her head to the other side, and saw another wing. Then, feeling something strange, she craned her neck to look down at her feet. She had to clamp her mouth shut to keep from screaming, and laid back to gaze at the sky. Her feet had changed into giant claws.

Despite her efforts to remain silent, a single squeak escaped her lips, and Julia suddenly could not only see, but _sense_ the forest canopy above her. But the colorless image in her mind's eye quickly faded. Amazed, Julia closed her eyes and squeaked again. Once more the image of the trees filled her mind, every leaf outlined perfectly.

Eyes still shut, she turned her head and emitted the high-pitched squeak. This time, she was struck by an image of Jared standing just beyond her wings. Julia felt a slight flutter in her chest, right over her heart, and smiled, despite her terrifying transformation. She had the bat spirit inside her, and had become one of the spirit warriors, with all the abilities and powers of a bat.

The moment Julia understood what she had become, she felt something spread across her body. There was the odd sensation of her bones shrinking as her wings became arms once more, and the rather uncomfortable feeling of muscles and bones shifting from claws back into human feet.

With her new and improved ears, Julia heard her father and brother gasp as she changed from bat to woman. She opened her eyes and sat up.

"I'm guessing you're alright, then." said Jared, fighting the shock in his voice.

Julia nodded. "How long was I out for?"

"Just since last night," her father answered. "Julia, what happened? How did you change into that beast?"

"Nice, Dad. Calling your own daughter a beast." Jared said in a voice inaudible to Professor Borden's aging ears, but perfectly heard by Julia.

"One of the jars I found earlier, the bat jar," Julia explained. "It broke, and the spirit came out."

"You mean the spirits were real?" The Professor was astounded.

Julia nodded, and then her eyes grew wide. "The other spirits! We have to keep them safe! Things like that are too dangerous to put on display!"

"You're right. But first we must discuss what has happened to you." said their father.

"I told you, Papa, I'm one of the ancient warriors."

"Just like that, you're a warrior?" asked Jared.

"Don't ask how, don't ask why." Julia was more worried about the other jars than about herself. "Let's go!"

"Alright," said the Professor, knowing that Julia would keep wanting to save the jars, for she had inherited her mother's determination.

"Wait!" Julia snapped, as the Bordens were about to leave. She heard a strange, yet familiar, thumping in the forest around them, as if many muffled drums were beating to many different tunes.

"Leaving so soon?" came a sneering voice from the bushes. A man stood. He was the leader of the militant team that had accompanied the Borden's expedition, and the look on his face meant no good.

"I heard and saw everything," he continued, as his mean emerged from the forest. "When you three disappeared, did you honestly think I wouldn't follow you?"

The Bordens were stunned, and said nothing. Julia's dark eyes smoldered angrily.

"Now, where are the other jars?"

This question caught Julia off guard. She had assumed that the four spirits were already being sent off to the government to be used as weapons.

"Come now," said the military leader when nobody answered. "Tell me where they are. Young Mr. Borden, what did you say?" For he had seen Jared's lips moving silently.

Nearly silently, anyway. Julia's bat hearing caught his whispers. "Go, Julia. Get jars from cave trail. Fly away_."_

Julia whirled to face her brother, ignoring the soldiers. His eyes were insistent. "Go. We'll be fine." he whispered again. She followed his order, taking off at a run through the rainforest and catching the militia by surprise. Quickly, they shot off in pursuit, but Julia had scrambled up a tree and was hidden from view.

She heard the sound of a struggle where her father and brother were, but thankfully, no gunshots. As soon as the group began heading back to camp without her, she started running towards the place Jared had mentioned, a cave on the trail to the site.

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Night fell, and Julia still hadn't left the site. Jared had placed the four remaining jars, and the shards of the fifth, into the cave after finding Julia inside her tent, half bat. He was just as smart as she was, and had guessed at the cause, even through his complete shock.

Now, he and their father were being held as bait for Julia to come back. She listened, hidden, to the militant leader shouting into the night.

"Surrender yourself or they will die! Do you have any idea how valuable those jars are?" he yelled.

Julia looked down at them, wrapped in a sheet on the ground. _Does he?_ she wondered.

"Come out and your family will go free!"

"What will happen to me?" she replied defiantly. She knew without seeing that his troops were making their way through the rainforest to her.

"Your life will be a small price to pay for those spirit warriors."

"_No!_" Jared screamed. "You're part bat, Julia! Use your wings and fly! Only you can save the—" He words were cut off, but Julia had already transformed. The shouts from the camp site carried through the air as she struggled to use her wings.

"Shut up, you idiot!" said the soldier.

"Don't look back, child!" her father's voice cut through the night. Julia started getting the hang of flying and picked up speed, carrying the sheet-wrapped jars in her claws. Despite her efforts to fly away as fast as she could, her super-sensitive hearing picked up the gunshots echoing over the rainforest. Blinded by tears, she relied on the powers bat spirit to carry her away.

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_Tolly: Kind of long, but necessary. I couldn't make it as good in first person. Need I remind you to review?_


	6. A cracked jar

"I flew north, back to the U.S., and I've been avoiding that man for the last three years," finished Julia. "I met Charlie after that first flight. He's a veterinarian, and he knew how to deal with bats."

"Not a giant half-bat, though. You scared me half to death." Charlie reminded her.

"So you're saying that those people in the helicopter were after these jars?" asked Peter. "But why?"

"Isn't it obvious? They want to use the five warriors as weapons. Give each spirit to one of their five best soldiers, and you've got one hell of an advantage over your enemy." Julia said. "And they're also ticked off because one of those spirits was wasted on me. The only way to get it out is to kill me, which I don't intend to let them do."

"Why don't you just let the other spirits go? Then those soldiers won't have anything to go after. They might give up." Peter suggested.

"And put four other lives at risk?" Julia snapped. "Change four other people into monsters?"

"You're not a monster," said Charlie gently.

Julia spread her wings. "Am I? You only see the likes of me in horror films. I can't be responsible for forcing others into my fate. Or into my family's fate."

"Um, about your family…"Charlie began.

"What?" Julia changed her wings back into arms and stared expectantly at him.

Peter, meanwhile, was inspecting the stone jars. Noticing something, he picked up the jaguar spirit's jar. "I think you should see this," he said quickly.

"Not now," said Julia. She turned back to Charlie. "What about my family?"

"You should really take a look at this." Peter shoved the jar into her hands and pointed to a small, almost invisible fracture.

Julia ran her finger over it lightly, then brought it close to her face. She opened her mouth, but no audible sound came out. She appeared to be listening intently. With wide eyes, she looked up at Charlie and Peter. "The spirit is gone!" she gasped.

Peter's spidey-sense tingled. He spun and faced the window, webs ready.

"What…" Julia trailed off as she heard the noise coming from outside, a low beat that was almost like a drum, the beat of a heart, coupled with a deep feral growl. "Charlie," she hissed. "Get back."

Charlie obeyed, not sensing what the two superheroes did, but knowing something they didn't.

With a screech, Julia launched herself out the open window, and Peter quickly followed suit. Julia spun in midair to face her opponent, but what she saw froze her. "Jared?" she whispered, unaware that she had changed back to human. She fainted as she plummeted to the ground, five stories below.

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Julia woke up in her bed with a start. "Jared!" She shouted as she sat up quickly.

"Relax, I'm right here," said her brother, seated in a chair by the bed. With a strangled sob, Julia hugged him tightly, tears of joy streaming down her face. "Hey, sis, do you mind?" he choked. "I'd like to be able to breathe."

"I thought you were killed," said Julia, releasing him. "What about Papa? Is he alive, too?"

Jared looked away. "No, he's gone."

"But how did you survive? I heard the gunshots and…" Julia trailed off and added softly, "And I still hear them."

"Let me put it this way: you're not the only one those jerks are after." Jared stood, and closed his eyes. When he opened them, instead of dark brown, they were bright yellow-green. He grinned, revealing sharp teeth. Claws sprouted from his fingers, and his skin became spotted with the markings of a jaguar. The final touch to his transformation was a long tail.

Julia stared at him in shock and wonder. "You're a spirit warrior…but how?"

"I brought the jars to the cave by the trail, remember?" said Jared as he changed back into a full human. "The jaguar one must have gotten cracked when I was carrying them, because the next thing I know, I'm staring at a huge shadow cat. I got knocked out, but not for as long as you were, obviously."

"And after I left?"

"I fought them off and carried Dad into the jungle, but…" Jared cleared his throat, clearly fending off tears.

"It's not your fault any more than it is mine," said Julia soothingly. "When I saw you tonight, I…wait a sec, I fell! Who caught me?"

"I guess we're even now, huh?" said Peter, stepping into the room.

"Guess so," said Julia.

"By the way, who the hell is this guy?" Jared glared at Peter, who still wore his Spidey-suit.

"Brother, Ally; Ally, Brother." Julia made a very brief introduction. "And Charlie!" she yelled. Charlie entered the room with a smile.

"We've met." Jared said, dark eyes laughing.

"You have?" said Julia, confused. She rounded on Charlie. "You knew he was alive?"

"Well…" said Charlie, shrugging.

Julia chucked a pillow at him.

Jared laughed, but then grew serious once more. "The other jars, they're still safe, right?"

Julia nodded. "Of course. What do you think I've been doing these past three years?"

"Here's the thing," said Jared. "Slannen, the guy who's been after us, he's launching a bigger and badder assault, to capture us once and for all. But if he fails, he's done. The government won't fund any more attempts."

"So, we just have to beat him one more time, right?" asked Julia.

"Well, yeah, but even with this guy's help," Jared nodded towards Peter. "We don't stand a chance."

"What are you saying?"

"I've got a few friends…three friends…who are willing to help us."

"Three…?" Julia's eyes got wide. "You mean, they're willing to become spirit warriors?"

"Yes. And don't worry: they're completely trustworthy."

"How can you be sure?"

Jared grinned mischievously. "A snarling jaguar-man is better than a lie-detector any day."

"What I'm most worried about is whether or not they know what they're getting themselves into. I decoded the rest of the writing on the jars. According to them, only death can separate the animal and human spirits." explained Julia. "It's a permanent change. Do they realize that?"

"Julia, these are people who have seen enough bad things in this world to know that something needs to be done. They understand the consequences, and we need their help."

"Do we know when Slannen is going to launch his next attack?"

"No, but it will be soon."

Julia bit her lip, thinking. "All right, we'll create the other spirit warriors. Besides, we've got three years of experience. If they turn out to be untrustworthy, we can always kill them and get the spirits back." She grinned.

"What!" said Peter, taken aback.

"Relax, Spidey. I'm just kidding. You should go home. I'll find you when we're ready to release the spirits. We might end up needing your skills."

"Sounds good to me," said Peter. He jumped out of Julia's open window and swung away on a web.

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_Tolly: So tell me what you think. Go on, don't be shy! I promise I won't sic a spirit warrior on you!_


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